An intra-oral imaging system is a diagnostic equipment that allows a dental practitioner to see the inside of a patient's mouth and display the topographical characteristics of teeth on a display unit. Certain three-dimensional (3D) intra-oral imagers may be comprised of an intra-oral camera with a light source. The 3D intra-oral imager may be inserted into the oral cavity of a patient by a dental practitioner. After insertion of the intra-oral imager into the oral cavity, the dental practitioner may capture images of visible parts of the teeth and the gingivae. The 3D intra-oral imager may be fabricated in the form of a slender rod that is referred to as a wand or a handpiece. The wand may be approximately the size of a dental mirror with a handle that is used in dentistry. The wand may have a built-in light source and a video camera that may achieve an imaging magnification, ranging in scale from 1/10 to 40 times or more. This allows the dental practitioner to discover certain types of details and defects of the teeth and gums. The images captured by the intra-oral camera may be displayed on a display unit. Additionally, three-dimensional surfaces generated from images captured (i.e., scanned) by the intra-oral imaging system may be displayed on the display unit.